Special teams and goalkeeping often saved the Avalanche throughout the month of November. The penalty kill suddenly thrived after its slow start to the season, and Colorado’s league-leading power play was vicious enough to mask occasional 5-on-5 deficiencies.
When the team was forced to spend Thanksgiving dinner on a wasted trip to Nashville, the first three things worth giving thanks for were probably — in no particular order — togetherness, special teams and Alexandar Georgiev.
Remove that success from the equation, and the result was a 5-0 Avalanche loss to Winnipeg on Tuesday night.
The Avs entered their four-game road trip on an impressive and unlikely surge, with two points earned in eight of their last 10 games.